


It's Ok

by DinDangDjarin



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Crying, Nightmares, Whump, frienship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27773983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinDangDjarin/pseuds/DinDangDjarin
Summary: Mando is having nightmares and is afraid to sleep.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Cara Dune
Comments: 6
Kudos: 55





	It's Ok

_Shots echoed everywhere. He could hear the screams and wails of the people around him. There was smoke, tons of smoke, fogging his vision. His parents placed him in a nearby cellar. They began to close the doors, he reached out one last time towards them. Everything became dark. More shots echoed, followed by silence. The cellar doors opened again, bright light blinded him. A huge droid emerged from the smoke, if pointed its blaster towards him……_

“AHHHHH!”

Mando shot up in his bed, hitting his head on the low ceiling. His breathing was fast and shallow. Panic flooded his mind and clouded his senses. He looked around. He wasn’t in a cellar, he was in his bunk on the Razor Crest, The Child sleeping peacefully in its hammock above him. Everything around him was calm and safe, yet his mind was unable to shake the dream.

Mando opened the door to his bunk and hurriedly made his way over to the small bathroom beside it. He needed to take his helmet off. Once he shut the door, he yanked it off of his head and let it fall to the floor. His hair was damp from sweat, and his whole body shook violently. “It was just a dream, just a _kriffing_ nightmare.” He thought to himself, desperately trying not to hyperventilate.

After a few minutes of drawing in long, shaky breaths, Mando began to calm down. Sighing, he reached for his helmet and put it back on. He slowly opened the door and walked back over to his bunk. The Child was awake now, and greeted him with a concerned coo. “Everything’s fine.” Mando lied, patting The Child on the head with a rather shaky hand. “Just needed to use the bathroom.” His voice wavered and The Child frowned, cooing sadly.

Mando glanced over at the time, not wanting to go back to sleep and risk having another nightmare. It was a little past six in the morning, much earlier than he was accustomed to waking up, but it would work for today. The Child seemed ready to start the day as well, so Mando headed up to the cockpit with him and plugged in the day’s coordinates. He needed to deliver some blaster ammunition to Cara, she had been waiting a week now her order.

Once the ship was in autopilot, he headed to the back to find something for The Child to eat. There was some leftover stew in the cooler, and The Child eagerly accepted the meal. Slurping its food down, The Child paused and glanced over at Mando, who was sitting across from it watching silently. Cooing, it held the bowl out towards him and tilted its head. Mando leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “That’s for you to eat, kid. I’m not hungry.” The Child hesitated a moment before continuing to eat his stew, obviously enjoying it.

Soon after he had finished the landing gear began to beep and Mando went back to the cockpit, The Child following close behind him. Taking a seat, he began to land the ship on a flat plain. “I notified Cara that we would be here.” He told The Child once the landing was complete. “We can wait outside until she comes.” He gently picked up The Child and made his way down the ramp of the Razor Crest. Taking a seat at the bottom of the ramp, He set The Child on the ground and allowed him to explore the area surrounding them.

Several minutes later a shape appeared in the distance, gradually getting closer. “Mando!” the figure yelled, waving. Mando got up and walked over to meet it, recognizing Cara’s voice. “You’re here early.” Cara mused. “It’s not even eight yet!” Mando shrugged. “Couldn't sleep.” He mumbled, looking back to check on The Child. Cara smiled and walked over towards the kid, Mando followed her.

The Child cooed excitedly and reached its arms up towards her. “Hey, kid.” Cara said, picking it up. “Did you remind Mando to finally bring me my order?” Mando glared at her and crossed his arms. Cara laughed. “Hey, I’m just teasing. Is it inside?” Mando nodded and led her to the storage area, where she helped him unload the cartons of ammo and carefully place them inside of a sac she had brought. “Would you like to stay here for a night?” Cara asked once they had finished. “I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of today, but you’re welcome to stay at my place. I’ve got an extra room, and I can provide better food than stew or ration bars.”

Much to her surprise, Mando didn’t immediately reject this idea. He thought silently for a moment, looking at The Child. He didn’t have any jobs lined up at the moment, and the kid would certainly enjoy a break from flying. Normally he wouldn't even have considered her invitation. Maybe it was the nightmare, maybe it was just the idea of having someone else to talk to besides The Child, but for reasons he didn’t even understand, he wanted to stay.

“Sure.” he replied. Cara couldn't hold back a smile. “Sounds like a plan then. I’ll watch this little guy while you get your stuff together.” Mando nodded and went back inside his ship, putting a few things they might need inside of the bag he usually used to carry The Child in. Once they got back to the town, Cara took them to her house before leaving to do her work.

She didn’t return until later that night, shortly after dark. She found The Child playing contently on the floor with some odd-shaped rocks, and Mando, watching silently from the nearby couch. “Sorry I took so long, a lot happened today.” She said, taking a seat on the couch beside him. They began to talk, catching up on everything that had been happening in their lives over the past few weeks.

After an hour or so, they were interrupted by The Child’s whining. Mando quickly got up and walked over to it. “What’s wrong kid?” He asked softly, kneeling down beside it. Cara looked over at the time. “He’s probably tired, it’s pretty late.” she said. Mando looked up at her. “Yeah.” he murmured. Cara walked over to the closet and grabbed some extra blankets.

“Here, take these. It gets pretty cold around here at night. I guess it’s probably time for us to get some sleep too.” Mando picked up The Child and rather hesitantly took the blankets from her. “Yeah, you’re right.” He replied, slowly. Cara frowned. “Is everything okay?” She asked. Mando nodded quickly. “Just tired.” He said. Cara smiled. “I can understand that. Goodnight, and don’t expect to see me up before eight.” She teased. “Goodnight.” Mando replied, making his way towards the extra room.

Once inside, Mando set The Child down carefully in the hammock he had brought for it and lied down on the bed with a sigh. Even though he was tired, he didn’t want to sleep. As much as he hated to admit it, he was afraid of having another nightmare. For a while Mando tried to stay awake, but eventually he dozed off, The Child snoring peacefully beside him.

_Smoke filled his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Shots echoed around him, he covered his ears with his hands in an attempt to drown them out. He could hear the wails of people around him, their screams flooding his brain. He didn’t want to let go when his parents set him down. He knew by the way they looked at him he would never see them again. He heard his mother crying. They lowered the door to the cellars. He heard an explosion and was blinded by a sudden light. The screaming stopped. His heart filled with dread as he realized what had just happened. A fierce war droid was pointing a massive weapon at him, it cocked the gun and……_

************

Cara woke up to the sound of yelling and high pitched squealing. “Mando?” She called, quickly getting out of bed and making her way over to where he was staying. Cara opened the door to the extra room and looked in. Mando was tossing and turning in his bed, his sobs muffled by his helmet. The Child was awake and wailing in a high wavery tone, obviously worried.

Cara rushed over and sat down on the bed, rubbing Mando’s shoulder gently but forcefully in order to get him to wake up. “Hey, Mando, it’s just a dream! Wake up!” She raised her voice so he could hear her. “Mando! You need to wake up!” He jerked awake and struggled to sit up, still sobbing. “Shh...Shh...It’s ok. It was just a dream.” She whispered, rubbing his back.

Even though he knew he was safe, Mando felt overcome with fear and grief. The Child cooed sadly and managed to climb up onto the bed. It crawled over to Mando and hugged his arm, looking up at him with sympathetic eyes. Mando felt stupid, but he couldn't stop. It was too much. He cried for a few more minutes, still trembling, and Cara’s heart ached at the sight.

 _“Dank Farrik”_ He muttered, wrapping his arms around The Child while drawing in shaky breaths. Why couldn't he get himself under control? Cara could tell he was embarrassed. She knew he had been raised to hide his emotions. He had done this in order to survive, but he was safe now. “Hey, Mando, look at me. It’s OK.” She stated simply.

Mando was silent for a moment, then he slowly lied back down. The Child cooed and lied down close beside him. Cara stood up and began to leave the room.

“Cara?”

She stopped and turned around to face Mando. “Yes?” She whispered back.

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just in case it wasn't clear, when Cara says "It's Ok.", she means it's ok to be scared. Thanks for reading!


End file.
